Got to meet My bot today

[crash5050]

Some assembly required? Yeah, ok, no problem. But I did see there is a key switch on the front of the control box, and I cannot find a key.

Anyone know where Shopbot Hides the keys?

David

[dana_swift]

The keys are attached to the chain holding the spindle/router collet wrenches.

You must turn off the router/spindle to remove the wrenches, and it guarantees that you dont have the wrenches in the collet when you turn the key on.

Turning the key on then pressing the start button is what starts the tool, hitting the enter key after that starts the cut file moves.

D

[crash5050]

Haven't found those yet... Must rummage more

David

[Brady Watson]

The key is attached to the spindle wrench...it is in the box with the spindle, collets and the rest of the spindle hardware.

-B

[adrianm]

Should be a couple of spares on their own ring not attached to anything as well.

[Brady Watson]

Should be a couple of spares on their own ring not attached to anything as well.

You must have gotten some extras...there is only one key shipped with the tool.

-B

[adrianm]

Strange. Mine was delivered as new with one on the wrench and another two in the bag with the instructions. I thought that was standard.

[crash5050]

I did open my router box and found a wrench with a key on it. that would have been the last place I would have looked, I woulnd,t have opened that box until it was time to put the router in.

Thanks Guys.

Now, if I had someone to translate these instructions into english, I could start putting her together.

David

[jTr]

David,
I got my new one in February. Had it set up in about 2 days with 2 helpers on day 1.

Embrace this process - this is the "get to know me" period for you and your machine. Once done, You'll have a good grip on where things go, what they do, resulting in a better level of comprehension for any future troubleshooting and upgrades.
Yes, manual is a bit odd - I remember flipping madly through it, as the syntax seems more like a game of leap-frog.
Single most important piece of advice:
WATCH THOSE CABLES!!!!
Due to strange order of syntax, I found myself cutting off wire ties almost as fast as I was applying them. Still, in the end, I had a set of loose cables in e-chain since there are no points to tie down inside. That caused me MONTHS of glitches and frustration.

Solution: Grab some flexible foam strips about 1"x1" square. Lay in between spindle/router orange power cable and the drive motor cables, then carefully snap chain clips shut. This keeps cables separated without binding inside the e-chain, thus avoiding the dreaded "lost comm" error, ususally caused by RF interference between high-powered/high current cables, and the delicate data feedback carried to your computer through the drive motor cables.
Once I figured that out, I've experienced perfectly reliable performance.

Again, embrace this process - six months into it, I'm really starting to excel with my shopbot. It is absolutely STUNNING how accuratly this 1,000LB machine can dance.Takes many hours of patience, but trust us all. It is immensely rewarding once you get through the curve.

Finally - check out the web articles. I think Brady Watson's primer on ramping values is most important. You may notice your machine slamming through corners once you start testing. His article compliments the section in your manual about this topic. If nothing else, the cornering value adjustment is essential for smooth, clean cuts and eliminating cornering dig's you may see upon your first run surfacing your spoilboard.

Stay on this forum - these people have helped me advance at a lightening pace to enjoyable, profitable production. DO NOT HESITATE TO POST YOUR QUESTIONS HERE!

Good luck , and welcome to the world's most advanced woodworking club!!

Jeff

[crash5050]

I am stuck on the middle legs. The manual is very cryptic on how to install the middle legs.

David

[adrianm]

Pretty much the same as the other legs. Slide the bolts and legs down the channels. Make sure it lines up with the cross support.

The latest documents are always at http://www.shopbotdocs.com

[Brady Watson]

I am stuck on the middle legs. The manual is very cryptic on how to install the middle legs.


See now...you are skipping around and NOT following the assembly manual directions! If you put the two X-most legs on the OUTSIDE of the table sides, then you would not be asking this question...nor would you be walking nuts down the extrusion and fiddling to get the bolts in. :rolleyes:

Before you get ahead of yourself - make sure the legs are square to the ground, the table sides are BOTH square (3.4.5) and parallel before you king kong tighten everything down. Get the chassis right the first time or it will haunt you forever. Level using 4 feet only, then work the two inner ones.

Stop skipping around or you ARE going to miss something, and then you'll be on here asking us a question that we have already answered 6,000 times already to someone else who won't follow directions :D I know you're REALLY excited...but slow it down or you'll miss an important step.

FYI - It takes a professional installer at least a couple solid hours to properly wire these machines. You only have to wire it properly once. Don't get expedient.

-B

[gerryv]

Excellent discussion thanks; I'm emailing it to myself for my re-reading list :)

[crash5050]

See, now you are making statements that you know not about. I have the legs on the outside, I am just having trouble figuring out how the set of cross braces go in there, not how to slide the legs in, that is a no brainer. I didn't skip any steps, the pictures are just bad.

[adrianm]

The cross supports slide into the bottom of the channel. The first picture in the section entitled "Slide the Cross Supports into Position" shows it.
http://www.shopbotdocs.com/_attach/1.2/PRS-Assembly-Manual/Table%20Assembly24.jpg

[Brady Watson]

See, now you are making statements that you know not about. I have the legs on the outside, I am just having trouble figuring out how the set of cross braces go in there, not how to slide the legs in, that is a no brainer. I didn't skip any steps, the pictures are just bad.

Sorry David...I'm in bed with bronchitis :eek: Don't let my peachy mood get to you...I'm marinating in Vicks right now :D

Which pictures are 'bad' ? How they slide on, or the table drawing at the back of the assembly manual? I usually lay out pencil marks at the lower table side extrusions like I am laying out a stud wall with a line to indicate position and an X or O to indicate what goes where.

The center legs get a 3X5, gusset, then leg, then 3X5 on the top portion (per side obviously). You'll want to jack the 4 outer legs up and dial the 2 inner legs down so you aren't fighting the leg while sliding them in.

-B

[myxpykalix]

David,
My table is a custom table and nothing like this but i have had to deal with extrusions on my manual legacy and based on that picture it would seem like it would be easy to loosen the bolts on the vertical leg enough to be able to slide the horizontal brace past it.

If the hole where the bolt is off by just a bit or the plating is thick on the end it might cause a sticking point.
The best tool you will need to use is a long metal square and a 4 ft level after you get it all together you will want to spend some extra time making sure it is level, and square.

Because i had a wooden floor in my shop i made sure my shop floor was level before i put the bot in so that any reading i got from the level when i was assembling the bot was not a measurement transferred from the structure.

I even ran string lines and string levels so that i could make sure it matched what i saw on the table. I installed some beefy leg levelers on my table because it was extra heavy anyway.

[crash5050]

I was having trouble figuring out how the two cross supports met with the middle legs. I just went back to the shop and started twiddling, and I figured it out.

Fo you that don't know, Twist in "T" bolts and drop in "T" nuts are much easier to use than those slide in thingys that shop bot gives you. I had a bunch leftover from my homebrew 8020 build. I tried to slide one of those things all the way down that 10 foo rail, and said poo on this. My table is now done, but since I have lysdeexia, and it was actually easier to build table top down. Now I have to wait on my brother in law with his wrecker to pick the dang thing up so we can flip it over. :(

[crash5050]

Sorry David...I'm in bed with bronchitis :eek: Don't let my peachy mood get to you...I'm marinating in Vicks right now :D

-B

No worries Mate, I took it as good humor anyways.